FWB rejects partnership for Landmark Center

For the second time in two years, the City Council may have killed the Landmark Center development.

FORT WALTON BEACH — For the second time in two years, the City Council may have killed the Landmark Center development.

Council members voted Tuesday night to direct city staff to stop work on a development agreement that would see Fort Walton Beach partner with the developers to move the project forward.

“This proposed development agreement as it was presented to us would set a terrible precedent,” City Councilman Dick Rynearson said. “If we were to get into the business of supplementing private developers to the tune of 20 percent plus, we would certainly find ourselves in an unsustainable position very quickly. We can’t afford to make that kind of investment with everyone who wants to bring a development to town.

“I’m not opposed to the Landmark development per se, but I’m opposed to the city’s (proposed investment in the project),” Rynearson added.

The city’s total investment has been estimated at $5 million to $8 million.

Councilman Bobby Nabors made a motion to direct the city’s staff to continue to work with Ft. Walton Development Partners to find out what the absolute minimum city investment the developers needed to proceed.

“I’m a firm believer in this project. In my mind it’s not dead yet,” Nabors said.

That proposal failed 2-4, with Nabors and Councilman Trey Goodwin voting to support the project.

Councilwoman Joyce Gossom was absent.

With the council’s decision to not proceed with a development agreement, the future of the Landmark Center is uncertain once again.

“I’m sure we’ll have a conference call (Wednesday) morning,” Ken Wright with Ft. Walton Development Partners said after the meeting. “My understanding is we can’t go forward without any development agreement.”

The Landmark Center is a 122,000-square-foot mixed-use project planned for the corner of Perry Avenue and U.S. Highway 98 downtown. It would boast 90 hotel rooms, 15 corporate apartments, a swimming pool, 31,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and a 343-space parking garage.

Under the proposed development agreement, Ft. Walton Development Partners wanted the city to:

• Vacate a piece of city-owned property next to the development so a parking garage could be built;

• Provide $1.2 million to fund infrastructure improvements needed for the project;

• Allow the developers to participate in two of the city’s grant programs. That would include an estimated $500,000 investment through the developer’s assistance program, which would offset the cost of impact and tap fees, and a $380,000 investment in the streetscape grant, which would fund 50 percent of the sidewalk and streetscape improvements;

• Return tax increment financing dollars the project would generate to offset the cost of building the parking garage. The city would make those payments until the Community Redevelopment Agency sunsets in 2026 or the parking garage is paid off.

Landmark Center was first announced in 2006 as a mixed-use development that would combine retail, office and residential space. In September 2010, the City Council voted unanimously to declare Ft. Walton Development Partners in default of its original development agreement, which had been approved about three years earlier.